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Topic: Oil Bath - Aging Cheese In Oil (Read 4549 times)

Thanks cac and good questions Tea, that explains why the only cheese I have ever oiled I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil and I didn't like the result, next time try canola oil. I like the crushed chili's idea.

Ok, as I also soap, I have lots of different oils on hand. Could you use for the initial oil bath a different oil like avocado, or macadamia, or mustard, or pumpkin etc. Would they impart their flavour as well?

For the second immersion, did it have to be canola, could you use say a rice bran, or grapeseed oil, sunflower?

My mind is running wild on the possibilities at the moment, and I definately know what I am trialling next weekend.Curious as to why the Olive oil gels? Is it just the virgin oil, or would the light gel too?

Sorry if this is too many questions.

CH the provolone that I oiled I used Olive oil, but as I didn't have any virgin on hand I just used the light. There was no flavour imparted into the cheese, but it definately benefited from the oiling.

Hello Tea,I have never tried any other oil but you could do some experimenting and surely get some good results.

Canola oil is what we use since it is the least expensive due to the amount you need to make sure that the cheeses are completely submerged.

When I say clean they surface it could be a combination of wiping and or cutting some of the rind off. It depends on how it comes out but mostly you need to cut or scrape the rind to remove the softness.

As for where you can keep them if you don't have a cave/coldroom then you will most certainly will have to place them in the fridge or wherever you would normally keep your cheese.

Tea, where are you from if I may ask?

I have attached some pictures for you to see what our cheese looks like. These are ready for submerging completely in oil for final aging process.

Tea, you have some wicked oils...wow. I would make a large batch of cheese something you're familiar with or monterey jack always works with peppers and spices. Anyway, I would make a large batch and make some 1 pound wheels and try different combinations. You could start a boutique cheesery.

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Life is like a box of chocolates sometimes too much rennet makes you kill people.

Caciocavallo, I live in the tropic of central Queensland Australia, and the humidity is almost too much at the moment. Been having thunder storms every afternoon for the past few days, but that serves to only increase the humidity, as the temps are staying high :'(

Cartier, now it is my turn to be surprised, I would have thought that you would have had access to all that I mentioned. Everyone of those oil, except the pumpkin oil, I can get at the local supermarket. The pumpkin I can get at a local Asian foodstore that stocks just the most wonderful things ... drool. Whole spices, legumes, flours, oils, sauces, coffee's, tea's. I can spend hours in there just looking.

Actually I was thinking of making the provolone again, as it really benefitted from the oil rubs last time. As I can only do 10ltr batches at the moment I was thinking or either doing 2 batches, or dividing one batch into 4, and trialling different oils for the initial bath, and a couple of different oils for the final submersion. I would also like to leave one out to age normally after the initial bath, and see what different that too makes.

My only hesitation in dividing one batch into 4 is that I think they maybe too small, and the flavour "take up" might be disproportionally affected to what it would be in a larger cheese.

A boutique cheesery would be a dream, but first I would need a better supply of milk.

The cheeses are not pressed as such. We simply "press" them as we are filling the cheese forms. I don't have any in oil since we removed them all to be vacuum packed. I get you some pics of those.

The chili you see is simply on the outside of the cheese which is rubbed with oil. It helps in reducing the mold that forms.

Although I have made some of the cheeses with chili pepper in them (mixed in while forming) and they turned out great. I have another passion which is hot hot chili peppers which I grow in the summer.

Tea, I have friends in Perth. I have been there many years ago when I first got married. We went twice for 6 weeks each time. Great place!! The people are fantastic and very friendly. Would love to go back, when the kids are older.

You mention "better milk supply" in your last message. Is it because you cant get any milk "legally"? Here in Quebec we cannot buy raw milk legally and you it is very difficult to get a farmer to sell you some unless you know them very well. My last supplier sold his farm so I was out for almost 1 year until I found my current one.

Well yes I guess I was referring to a cheaper source of raw milk, that I could access constantly. If I were going to go into business, I would need to be registered as a business so therefore the dairy that I bought from would need to be also.For now I buy quality milk, and I have a friend that sends excess milk my way. People can give me milk, and I can give away cheeses, but legally, there cannot be monies exchanged for such services.

BTW forgot to thank you for the pics. They are much appreciated.

Having re-read your imput, I think that I could maybe do a monteray jack for a trail run as well. Even though they are pressed, I don't consider then a hard cheese. So we will see.